Sunlight Foundation Petition Tells Congress to Wait 72 Hours After Posting Next Bailout Bill Before Voting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 30, 2008

Contact: Gabriela Schneider 202/742-1520

Washington, DC - Today, the Sunlight Foundation is calling on Congress to increase legislative transparency by posting the next version of the financial bailout legislation online for at least 72 hours before bringing the bill to a vote. Citizens can sign the petition here: http://readthebillfirst.org.

Sunlight advocates for all legislation to be posted online for a minimum of 72 hours before voting can take place. Its new petition calls on Congress to grant lawmakers and citizens alike sufficient time to consider and debate bills, so that Congress can have full knowledge and consideration of the legislation’s implications with considered feedback from the public.

“Sunlight believes all legislation should posted online for at least 72 hours before a vote to give lawmakers and citizens sufficient time to review and debate it, and this bill is no exception,” said Ellen Miller, executive director and co-founder of the Sunlight Foundation. "The failure of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 on Monday, September 29, 2008, is a case in point. The bill was posted online late Sunday afternoon, and voted on less than 24 hours later. That's why we are calling on citizens to sign a petition to tell Congress to wait 72 hours between when the bill is first posted online and the actual vote."

Since Sunlight posted the legislative proposals from the Treasury Department, Senator Dodd and the House Financial Services Committee on PublicMarkup.org during the past week, citizens flooded the site with nearly 700 comments on these iterations of the bailout bill. Using the simple, blog-like layout of PublicMarkup.org, citizens were able to record and publicize their critiques of the entire bill or specific provisions, bringing citizen oversight to the legislation. Members of Congress should have a similar opportunity to know exactly what they will be voting for -- or against.

The Sunlight Foundation supports, develops and deploys new Internet technologies to make information about Congress and the federal government more accessible to the American people. Through its projects and grant-making, Sunlight serves as a catalyst to create greater political transparency and to foster more openness and accountability in government. Visit SunlightFoundation.com to learn more about Sunlight's projects, including The Open House Project, EarmarkWatch.org and OpenCongress.org.

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